Silverpoint

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Silverpoint predates the use of graphite as a drawing medium and was used by old masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer and Jan Van Eyck.

Rembrandt is known to have made only one silverpoint drawing, a portrait of his wife Saskia dated 1633. By the Eighteenth Century, silverpoint was supplanted by more the more versatile and immediate medium of graphite. Graphite completely replaced silverpoint as a fine drawing choice by the Nineteenth Century.

Alphonse Legros, Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Joseph Stella helped revitalize the medium at various times. Perhaps the best known modern silverpoint portrait was the 1920 portrait of Marcel Duchamp by Joseph Stella (69 by 53cm)in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art New York from the Katherine S. Drier bequest. Silverpoint has made a renaissance in the 1990's with the resurgence of drawing as an artistic end in itself.

A silverpoint drawing can be made with a piece of silver wire held in a lead holder or handmade holder. Some artists simply wrap the wire in a spiral around a pencil with enough length extending over the tip of the pencil to make the drawn line visible to the artist's eyes. The gauge of silver wire used is somewhat determined by individual preferences of the artists. The firm paper or lightweight board to draw on needs to be smooth and coated with thin layers of rabbit skin gesso, acrylic gesso or gouache. The slight tooth made by the layer of paint takes a little of the silver as you move the point over the surface to make the drawing. The result is very delicate. The marks need to be built up carefully. Cross-hatching is an effective drawing technique for silverpoint. A kneaded eraser will effectively remove all but the strongest silverpoint lines, contrary to the myth that it is un-erasable. To start with the drawing is silvery but over time the silver will tarnish to a rusty black for an old master finish. Tarnish to deepen the tones can be hastened with a dilute mixture of delicately brushed-on egg yolk. The yellow yolk bleaches out in natural light within a week while the tarnished lines remain a deeper tone.

In addition to silver, almost any other non-ferrous metal will make a mark on prepared paper. Gold, copper, and lead have also been used by artists and draftsman. Gold will remain grayish on the paper, never tarnishing, while copper will turn greenish and fade over time. Lead remains brownish and is of a darker value than silver. Bronze, tin, brass, bismuth and aluminum are lesser used metals, each with its own subtle variations.